Visoflex Type 020 help

[CherylA]

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Hello. I recently got my first M, the M10-P. I am fine with zone focus but and having a hard time seeing the patch for critical focus. I bought a Walter Leica contrast lens but it doesn’t help much. I was advised by a friend to get the visoflex 020 and now have that. There is very little information online as to how to use it properly. It’s not “plug and play” as many suggest. The focus flashes on and off so quickly I don’t have enough time to see it. Perhaps my settings are off. I would appreciate any help. Thank you. 

[jaapv]

You bought a rangefinder camera and paid a substantial amount of money for it. If you are happy at f8 and zone focus, that is fine, but that is not what the camera was made for, nor what you paid for - you could just as well have gotten something with three symbols - face, family group and mountain, for focus aids.

So before you make use of the emergency solution of the EVF - in that case you would have been better off with an SL2 or CL- , learn to use the camera as it is meant.

From the M FAQ:

Quote

Question: I come from an autofocus camera background. What is the best way to get good focus on an M camera?

 

The M cameras work the same way as any rangefinder camera, the central patch in the viewfinder is your focusing tool.

It is important to look through the viewfinder in the optical axis. Looking into the camera skewed will result in inaccurate focus.

 

The first thing to do is to ascertain that you can see the rangefinder patch properly. A correct match between the rangefinder and your eye is even more important than it is using an SLR.

Leica sells corrective diopter lenses. Determining which one you need - if any- can be done by going to your optician and holding his try-out lenses between your eye and the viewfinder. The one that allows you to see the rangefinder patch and framelines sharply is the correct one. Order the nearest value from Leica. In a pinch you can use over-the-counter reading glasses for this test. If your eyes need special corrections, you can use your spectacles, provided you can see clearly at 2 metres distance ( the virtual distance of the rangefinder patch). Note that the background will be at background distance,so your eye should ideally be able to accommodate over the distance differential. However, there is some tolerance here.

 

For special cases there are viewfinder magnifiers. They can help, especially with longer and fast lenses and they can give confidence, but they can also be not very useful; they cannot correct errors in the focusing mechanism or your eye, in fact they magnify them.

Also, one loses contrast and brightness.

Leica offers a 1.25x one and a 1.4x. These need diopter correction like the camera, but often of a different value than the camera viewfinder.

 

There are also third-party magnifiers, sold by Japan Exposures, that include a variable diopter correction. 1.15x and 1.35x. For patent reasons they cannot be sold in the USA and Germany for use on a Leica camera, but they can be purchased for use on for instance a rifle scope.

Basically, for an experienced user, magnifiers are not needed and will only lower contrast and brightness, but many users do like and use them.

 

Once the viewfinder is corrected optimally, there are three methods of focusing, in ascending order of difficulty aka training.

 

1. The broken line method. Look for a vertical line in the image and bring it together in the rangefinder patch to be continuous.

 

2. The coincidence method. Look for a pattern in the image and bring it together to coincide. This may lead to errors with repeating patterns.

 

3. The contrast method. Once you have focus by method 1. or 2. a small adjustment will cause the rangefinder patch to "jump" into optimum contrast. At that point you have the most precise focussing adjustment.

 

Side remarks:

 

If you try focusing on a subject emitting polarized light like a reflection it may happen that the polarizing effect of the prism system in the rangefinder will blot out the contrast in the rangefinder patch, making focusing difficult. In that case rotate the camera 90 degrees to focus.

 

[CherylA]

Thank you. I have learned it the way it is supposed to be used. I can’t see the patch well. 

[jaapv]

In what way? Do you see it as. blurred?  What is the status of your vision? Do you suffer from astigmatism?

BTW, I am rather puzzled by "the focus flashes on and off". What are you trying to see?

[jdlaing]

There is a little window that illuminates the focus patch. Sometimes if you get your fingers too close while holding the camera up to your eye it can obscure the focus patch. It should be bright enough to see clearly and brightly.

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[jdlaing]

Like this:

 

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[CherylA]

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Thank you. Mine is not this easy to see. It’s dull. 

[jdlaing]

Just now, CherylA said:

Thank you. Mine is not this easy to see. It’s dull. 

Is the little window I circled clouded up or smudged?

[CherylA]

I checked. The area you circled is clean. Thanks. 

[jdlaing]

2 minutes ago, CherylA said:

I checked. The area you circled is clean. Thanks. 

It takes some getting used to for someone new to it but persevere. You’ll get it.

[tritentrue]

My use of the Visoflex 020 was limited to the T and TL2, which have different menu settings; but the page linked below seems to have some advice for use with the M10:

http://jeffmellody.com/blog/2018/6/5/leica-visoflex-review-m10-viewfinder

[jaapv]

18 minutes ago, jdlaing said:

It takes some getting used to for someone new to it but persevere. You’ll get it.

Just remember the essential three P's for successful rangefinder photography:

Practise, Practise and Practise.

Play with the camera - focus all over the place without pressing the shutter when you are sitting and relaxing.

 

[mujk]

Can you see the frame lines and the red led numbers at the bottom clearly? If not, you need to use your glasses, contact lenses or you need to purchase a diopter correction lens for the viewfinder. Or whatever else you need to be able to see clearly at a distance of several meters.

If this is ok, there is of course the possibility that there is someting wrong with your rangefinder or that rangefinder vertical alignment is off. In the latter case you will be able to focus correctly using vertical lines, but the overall contrast of the rangefinder will not increase on correct focus as much as it should, because the images don't coincide vertically. You should be able to see if this is the case when there are horizontal lines inside the patch.

You should also make sure that your eye is centered in the viewfinder eyepiece. The rangefinder patch doesn't work correctly if viewed at an angle. And then it's also good to remember that the rangefinder patch is only illuminated by the light coming in from the subject, so it may be very dim in low light.

The Viso 020 works in the same way as live view on the lcd without any extra setup. However, the default setting that activates the focus aid (enlarging function) when turning the focusing ring may not be the best setting for everyone. I have changed it so that it activates only when pressing the front button. Unlike the optical viewfinder, the Viso has built-in, adjustable dioptre correction.

Edited August 31, 2020 by mujk

[Lawrence A.]

It's probably heresy on this forum, but putting a black dot on the center front of the viewfinder window can help increase contrast is the patch is dull and hard to see. I use a tiny piece of electrical tape, some people use a sharpie (which gives me the willies).  Granted, I do this on old rangefinder not brand new Leicas. But it's worth a try.